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Monday, September 16, 2013

Anne Calhoun: Uncommon Passion

Ben Harris, the hero in my latest release, UNCOMMON
PASSION, first showed up on the scene in my previous erotic romance
release, UNCOMMON PLEASURE. Ben was the man the heroine turned to when she
wanted to get over the Marine who broke her heart half way through his
deployment. Her life was falling apart around her ears, and she didn’t want
anything more complicated than booty call. She knew Ben is a cop with a
reputation, and therefore perfect for what she needed. Eventually Ben ends up
in a ménage with that heroine and her returning Marine, serving as the catalyst
to their HEA.

Erotic romances often feature a character like this, Dan
Savage’s perfect ménage partner: someone you trust totally who will fade into
the background and never mention that single night of passion again. But Ben’s
willingness to be used like that stayed with me long after I finished that
book. My favorite way to come up with plots for books is to develop the
characters as deeply as I can, then imagine the worst thing I can do them. It’s
a fun (and by “fun” I mean “cruel”) way to work out a book, and in this case,
it led me down a very specific path:

What if jaded, world-weary, emotionally unavailable
Ben meets Rachel, who happens to be a virgin? What if he doesn’t figure
out she’s a virgin because a) he’s drunk and b) she’s doing her best to hide
it? What if, when he confronts her, she tells him she chose him because
she knew he wouldn’t care? She doesn’t want his pity or his protectiveness or
his sexual expertise. She got exactly what she wanted out of the encounter, and
he can go on with his life.

What if Ben’s discovered a way he doesn’t like being
used, or what that says about who he’s become?

That’s the catalyst for the emotional journey in UNCOMMON
PASSION: experienced cop determined to feel nothing at all meets a woman
equally determined to feel everything, physically and emotionally. I was also
influenced by Laura Kinsale’s Flowers From the Storm, about a Quaker heroine
and a jaded duke (this is one of my favorite historical romances and I highly
recommend it). Drawing from FFTS, I gave Rachel a back story set in separatist
religious community she felt called to leave.

Rachel’s dead on assessment of Ben’s character rocks him
back on his heels. Rachel is everything Ben isn’t: awake and aware in a world
that will devastate them again and again and again. Suddenly, he does care, and
what they experience together makes him face everything he’s avoided from his
past. What happens between them is erotic and emotional and frightening; it’s
what happens when Fate or God or love grips you by the nape of the neck and
refuses to let you go.

Have you ever looked around at what you’ve become and
decided to choose a different path? I have. I “woke up” in a cube farm one
morning and knew I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing. It wasn’t bad or
dangerous or wrong…just not authentic. Tell me your story, and I’ll choose one
winner to receive a copy of UNCOMMON PASSION. Thanks for reading!

I had graduated with an accounting degree but shortly after entering the working world, I fell in love with a man whose career involved a lot of travel and living abroad. We married and I gave up working to be a housewife for 17 years. The kids were old enough to not need me so much when we made the move back to the US and I found a job near home. It was entry level at an assisted living, but after the second year there an opportunity opened. They promoted me and gave me an office. Still sometimes pinch myself over this.

My "aha" moment was after a long term relationship ended and I realized that I was actually better off. I'm enjoying my new place, my dog is happier and work is actually better since I don't have home life stress influencing me. Ironcially the ex is begging me back but... I don't think it's gonna happen. Thanks for sharing!